


The boy that death followed

by random_writing



Category: Bleach
Genre: Everything may change, F/M, Multi, Story is better than the summary, Tags May Change, au where there are no hollows or shinigami, but ichigo can still see ghosts and orihime can still heal people, i hate summaries, i think..., might tag more characters, no one is evil either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:39:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7713559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/random_writing/pseuds/random_writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He never asked for the ability to see ghosts. But everything changes when he meets a girl with a smile just as bright as the sun and healing powers. Together they will help the ghosts of Karakura to move on to the other side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A boy carved from marble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own bleach, Tite Kubo does...

It was completely silent in the waiting room, only the sound of footsteps and the ticking of a clock was heard. The time was ten minutes past two and the visiting hours at Karakura hospital had just begun. But even though that, it was quite calm at the hospital.

The nurses took care of the of the patients, who sat in the cafeteria and ate, while their family and friends visited. And neither had any unexpected surgeries or deaths occurred during the day. It was just your regular Thursday, the Thursdays were always the most calm.

Now and then, one of the staff workers passed the, almost empty, waiting room. But they all ignored the little girl who sat there, all alone. They barely looked at her, they were too afraid to do so. She was after all the girl who visited the boy in room 632.

The little girl always arrived two o'clock during the Thursdays, always carrying a far too big flower bouquet, as if she always bought too many. Each Thursday she arrived with a new kind of flower and this Thursday it was a bouquet of sweet peas that rested on her lap.

She wasn't actually very little, she just looked that way. She always seemed so insecure, as if she wanted to sink further down the chair and disappear. But it was understandable. No one wanted to visit their dear ones at the hospital, unless it was for their wellbeing.

"Inoue-san?" someone shouted and the girl looked up at the nurse who was came walking towards her, "you may visit him now."

The nurse never asked which room or whom the girl was going to visit, she already knew. The girl nodded, rose up from her chair and followed the nurse. The older woman kept talking, as they walked towards the elevators, but the girl wasn't listening. Her thoughts were else where.

As they reached the elevators, the nurse grew silent and the doors opened. As the elevator went up, towards the sixth floor, the nurse said, "he's had a few problems during the day." Even though the girl never answered, the nurse continued, "so if there are any problems during your visit, you'll have to call the staff."

The girl nodded, but stayed silent, as the elevator doors opened. She stepped out in the empty hallway and said a quiet goodbye. The nurse gave her a last smile before the doors closed and the girl was left alone. With caution she started to walk down the hallway.

A few months ago she had met the boy's father in the hallway and it had been fifteen awkward minutes trying to talk to the cold man. She would rater not have it happen again, so she walked with fast steps towards room 632.

The girl stared down at the white marble floor, as she approached the sixth's floor staffroom. She always heard something she would rather not have heard when she passed that room.

"Poor boy. It's soon over for him", she heard one of the nurses say, when she came closer to the room. They never noticed her when she walked past the room, always continuing with their rumor spreading, "Ishida-san says it's only a few days left. What a horrible way to lose a son."

"I heard he has already lost his wife and now he has to lose his son. To the same disease", one of the nurses said and looked up at the girl as she passed the room. Her eyes grew wide and her cigarett hanged unlit from her mouth, the lighter forgotten in her hand, "it was her."

"Who?" the girl heard another nurse whisper.

"The girl who visits him."

"Oh shit."

The girl started to walk faster, to escape from their whispering. The thoughts echoed in her head and her heart started to beat faster, as she reached the door that led to room 632. For awhile she just stood there, taking deep breaths, waiting for her heart to stop racing. 'Maybe he's not there,' she thought, 'what if he has left me?' 

It took her three minutes before she could slowly open the door, step into the bright room and close the door carefully behind her. She would rather not wake the boy, if he was asleep. But when she looked at him, she noticed that he was, as usual, awake. He always was when she came. As if he was waiting for her.

"I've brought flowers, Ishida-kun", the girl said happily, as she went up to the room's windowsill, where several bouquets already stood in colorful vases. She replaced one of the withered bouquets with the sweet peas, throwing the old bouquet in the bin by the door. Not thinking that the flowers needed new water.

Carefully she pulled up one of the chairs up to his bedside and sat down. Her heart had stopped racing and her doubt was all gone, as she started speaking to him.

"So? How are you?" she said, with hope in her voice.

But the boy didn't answer, he never did. He just stared into thin air.

The girl never knew if he didn't have the strength to answer her or if he couldn't hear her. But she never waited for an answer, she just started telling him about her day or what he had missed at school, as she always did.

Even though she knew that he would never answer her, she started to tell him about her lunch, what they had done during P.E and how Urahara-sensei had almost burnt down the whole school. The boy never smiled kindly or gave her an intelligent answer. He just laid there.

So pale that he almost  seemed to disappeared between the white sheets. Needles stuck out from his arms, IV lines leading up to IV bags. And it was only his chest that moved, when he breathed raspy breaths.

At the beginning he had even tried doing his homework. But after awhile the boy had grown too tired and now they just laid there, unopened.

The girl had even once done his history assignment. But when she had given it to Kyoraku-sensei, had the professor only laughed and said that it was sweet of her and that he had tried something similar when he was younger.

When she thought about it, it almost seemed as if the boy had expected to get well and come back. Of course he had believed that, they all had.

Now he just laid there, unmoving, waiting for an end that never seemed to come. He looked like he was made of marble, a bird made out of marble. Arms far to thin and hands formed like claws. His skin was cold, pale and so thin that the veins shone through.

The girl could barely touch him without bruises blooming up on his body like flowers. Bedsores covered his back, but none of this matter, he didn't feel it. He was just like a statue, an empty shell of what he used to be. The girl could barely call him his name, the boy she loved had long since disappeared.

'It's only a few days left', the nurses had said. The girl grew quiet and watched the boy sadly.

"You have to fight", she said, warm tears slowly streaming down her cheeks, tears that burned in her eyes, "you have to promise that, Uryuu."

She couldn't breath and his silence was deafening. But the boy only watched the crying girl with his empty eyes.

Slowly the boy laid his hand infront of her. Surprised, she looked at him and smiled through her tears.

Her hand was shaking as she laid it in his. His hand was cold, but she could feel his heart beating, slowly.

She forgot how she just a few seconds ago, had told him about her new arts and crafts project. She even forgot about those things she had promised herself that she would do. Like buying groceries or do her homework.

But the boy didn't forget the promise he had keep.

It didn't take long before they closed their eyes and fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

The nurse walked with fast steps down the corridor at the sixth floor. It was a quarter to five and her destination was room 632. The hospital's visiting hours would be over within fifteen minutes and she had to tell the girl, who visited room 632, that she had to leave soon.

"Excuse me, Inoue-san", she said, as she opened the door and stepped into the room, "bu-"

 The nurse grew silent, as she saw the sleeping couple. A warm smile was formed on her lips, but the smile died, when she noticed the heart monitor's beeping had become an even tone. 

Turning her gaze away from the two, she sighed and watched the straight line on the heart monitor's screen. Sadly, she looked at the sleeping girl and shock her head.

The girl's hand was still interlaced with the boy's, even though it had been cold and limp since hours back.

As if she refused let go, even though his heart had stopped beating. 


	2. Of old memories and forgotten men

 The cicadas sung in the distance, as the boy walked home from school. It had been one of spring's warmest days and it almost seemed as if the air vibrated from the heat. The sun was high up in the sky. It had been a long day at school and the boy was tired. 

With heavy steps he slowly walked down the paved street. He didn't have his house keys and the boy already knew that no one was home. They were either at school, football practice or at work. But that didn't matter, he could wait. 

A girl from his class walked past him with hurried steps, muttering a quick hello. She never gets an answer, but it's nothing unusual, the boy often ignores his classmates. The girl doesn't wait for one either, she just continues down the street, wanting to catch the bus before it's too late. 

But the boy didn't actually ignore her, he hadn't heard her. 

His thoughts were elsewhere, an old memory. 

Over and over again he tried to get rid of them, but they always came back. As if they haunted him. 

And as the boy walked down the street he let his thoughts wander. 

* * *

 The snow had lain like a big, white blanket over the city, during that cold January day. Tightly he had held his mother's hand, not wanting to slip on the ice covered ground. The boy's father had walked next to them, their skates hanging from his shoulder. They had been going towards the lake, close to their house. 

His mother had said something, when they had come to the lake. But the words had faded over time and the boy could no longer remember them. 

The boy had sat down in the cold snow and looked out at the frozen water. There hadn't been any people by the lake, even though it had been a great day for skating. 

His father had pulled of his shoes, put on the black skates and helped him up from the snow. The boy had taken a few faltering steps towards the lake, but the skates had been heavy and the boy tired. The father had just managed to catch him before he landed, face first, in the snow. Quickly he had taken his hand and helped him out on the ice.

The blade had barely touched the surface, before they had heard a scream and they both had stopped. Just a few seconds ago she had sat still by the lakeshore, with a calm smile. But when they had turned around, she had looked up at the two strangers behind her in chock.

Snow had went flying, as she had jumped up from the snow. She had given the other woman a quick hug, before she had turned to the white haired man. 

The hug had been lingering, but it had went unanswered. After awhile, she had let go and looked down. And it had been then, the boy had noticed him. 

A boy, who's hair had had the same colour as the night sky and a jacket the same colour as the snow. He had seemed to be the same age as the boy himself and his curiosity had awoken. 

The boy could clearly remember that his father had let go of his hand, just then, leaving him all alone by the lakeshore, as he went up to the others. A wide smile had cowered his lips, when he sat down infront of the other boy. 

"Got your nose", the father had said happily. But the boy hadn't laughed or smiled. He had just stared at the strange man and hid behind the white-haired man's legs. The father had risen up and said something, making both of the women laugh. The boy's mother had then turned her gaze towards the shore, where the boy had struggled to stand. 

"Ichigo", she had shouted, her smile unforgettable, "come and say hi." 

Slowly he had walked up to the adults and the boy.

The woman had immediately sat down infront of him. Ichigo could no longer remember her name or what colour her kind eyes had been. But she had been beautiful.

The white haired man hadn't cared about sitting down in front of him, he had just given him a pale hand to shake. He had had cold, blue eyes and a dragon's name.

Then, Ichigo had turned his gaze towards the man's legs, where the other boy had stood.

And dark eyes had met blue.  

* * *

Suddenly Ichigo's thoughts got interrupted, as he got shoved out of the way. He had almost managed to walk the whole way home, without thinking. He had't noticed where he was. 

Only the thoughts about his mother's smile and the boy's blue eyes, the woman's kind eyes and the man's white hair. His father's failed attempt at being funny, made Ichigo holding his head high. But the blood in his veins froze when he met the man's empty eyes. 

It was crowded with people at the busstop, who all wanted to catch the bus before it went. But even though that their eyes met. Quickly he looked down at the ground, at the dandelion that grew through the pavement. 

With hasty steps Ichigo walked through the crowd, trying to avoid the old man's cold gaze. Everyone else managed to avoid it, but not Ichigo. 

The old man had always been there, during all those years Ichigo had passed the busstop. He never aged, as if he was stuck in time. He had always worn the same clothes and the cup that he carried was always empty. No one gave him any money or help, even though he needed it. 

No one noticed them, only Ichigo. He saw them everyday. And every day he stared down at the ground, avoiding their dead eyes. Each day he saw them, those who everyone else had forgotten.

He saw those who wanted to pass, but couldn't. He never asked for the ability to see ghosts. He wanted to be like everyone else, he wanted to be normal. 

Ichigo only wanted to see one ghost, but she never came. 

* * *

"Come on!"

Over and over again, Ichigo pulled the door handle, as he stood outside the front door. In hope that someone would've return earlier than usual, he had knocked at the door several times, but to no avail. 

One last time he knocked, two fast knocks against the door. Ichigo sighed and sat down on the cold, stone stairs. The minutes passed, as he hopelessly tried to remember who the family in his memory were. He knew they were from his mother's side, but not much else. 

Ichigo was so far gone in his thoughts, that he never noticed the man who slowly came walking towards him. The man glared down at Ichigo, as he climbed the wide stairs and started to unlock the door. 

"Thinking 'bout girls, son?", the man said loudly and kicked Ichigo playfully in the side. The boy yelped and glared up at the man, who's grin only grew wider. He left the door opened, as he went into the house and Ichigo soon followed. 

The door slammed shut behind and his satchel landed with a loud thud on the wooden floor. Slowly he followed the man further into the house, out in the kitchen.

For a long time he just sat there, by the kitchen table, watching the man search the refrigerator and listening to his humming. 

"Hey, dad?" 

The father turned away from the refrigerator and watched his son. Dark eyes curious. 

"Yes?" he said, turning his focus again towards the refrigerator, to continue his search for something to eat in the bowls on the shelves.

"Did mom have a white haired relative? A man?"

"Why are you wondering?" 

The father turned away from the refrigerator, holding a white bowl. He closed the door behind him and sat down infront of Ichigo. 

"Masaki had a cousin, Ryuuken, he had white hair. Why are you asking?"

"None of your business", Ichigo said and rose up, "whatever, I have to do my homework." 

Without saying anything else he left the kitchen, leaving the father all alone. 

Alone with his cold, white bowl with oyakodon. 

* * *

Wide shadows were thrown across the room, as the lamp lit up the room with it's dim light. Outside the sky had been colored orange, by the sinking sun. 

His pen scraped against the papper and the father's loud laughter was heard from downstairs. Ichigo's favorite song, 'News from the Front' by Bad Religion, was played on the highest volume on his phone and somewhere a phone rang. 

For a long time Ichigo stared at the math book that laid open infront of him. No matter how he calculated the equation, it didn't get the correct answer. After awhile he just gave up and copied the right answer. As he counted equation after equation, the song came to an end. 

The phone was still ringing somewhere and Ichigo was growing impatient. Quickly he stood up, dropping the pen on the desk and pulling out his headphones. The music was still blasting out from the headphones, as he left the bedroom. 

It didn't take long before he realized that the ringing came from his father's bedroom at the end of the corridor. The room was as messy as ever and the phone was thrown on the bed, between the blue sheets.

He pulled away the sheets and the phone bounced against the mattress. Ichigo pressed the, now silent, phone against his ear and waited on the other person to say something. 

"Hello?" he muttered, but they remained silent. "Who am I talking to?" 

For a long time Ichigo just stood there, waiting for an answer. He knew someone was there, he could hear their breathing. 

"Is this Kurosaki Isshin?" they asked. 

"No, this is his son, Kurosaki Ichigo. But he's downstairs." 

Ichigo left the room and went down the corridor, towards the stairs. The father's laughter was still heard from the first floor, as Ichigo walked down the stairs with hurried steps. 

He took a quick peek inside the kitchen, as he passed it, at his sister. As usual she stood infront of the stove, cooking something. 

"What are you making?"

"Oyakodon", she answered, without turning around.

"Dad ate that earlier today." 

As he continued down the corridor, he could hear her mutter, "those left overs were at least six days old." 

The father sat infront of the television, watching some gameshow. The televisions pale light lit up the room, bathing the father in light. 

"Hey, old man. Phone."

The father turned away from the television and looked at his son with a warm smile on his lips. 

"Give me it."

Ichigo gave the man the phone and sat down next to him. 

"Kurosaki Isshin talking", the father said loudly and rose up from the sofa. As usual he walked around the room aimlessly, until he leaned against the wall behind the sofa and watched the television. 

"Hello, Ryuuken." 

Ichigo lifted up the remote, next to him, and started to surf through the channels. He hadn't even pressed the button, before he earned a slap against the head. 

"Long time no see." 

Ichigo sunk further down in the sofa, as he listened to his father's loud voice. 

"It's weird, we talked about you earlier."

Ichigo looked up at the loud man, questioningly. 'Mom's cousin?' he thought, 'he's calling now.' 

"So how's Uryuu? Does he have any white hair, just like his old man", he joked, but the smile froze. 

"What?" 

For a long time the father was quiet, listening to the man on the phone. The television's sound was drowned out by the silence in Ichigo's head. He only saw his father's chocked expression.

And the silence was broken by the phone shattering against the floor. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the first. But it was kinda rushed, since school starts in two days and I don't know when I get to write again.


	3. Can you hear the silence humming

"Where are we going?"

As expected the question went unanswered and the silence remained. It had been silent for a long time, only the father's heavy breathing and the engine's roaring was heard. Usually the radio would've been played at the highest volume and the father would've sung along. But now both the father and the radio were quiet. And Ichigo was tired of it, the heavy silence that had lasted for days end. 

They never got an answer out of him, no matter what they'd ask. He had barely said anything since the phone call a few days earlier. It was almost as if he couldn't hear them, far to gone in his thoughts, as he continued to gather their belongings. 

Because they were moving. But they didn't know where. 

The two twin sisters slept soundly in the backseat and Ichigo smiled when he saw Karin's messy hair through the rearview mirror. He leaned his head against the cold window and watched the passing landscape outside. In the distance a city towered up towards the sky, but didn't dare to ask if it was their destination. He wouldn't get an answer anyway. 

"Karakura?" he muttered, as they drove into the city. Ichigo watched his father through the corner of his eye, just to see if there was any kind of reaction. But man was as concentrated as before, holding the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles whitened. 

The butterflies in Ichigo's stomach started to fly, as he looked out the window, out at the passing houses. The city had been bigger when he was younger, or at least seemed bigger. But now he was older and it seemed so small, especially if you compared it to their old city. 

A smile grew on his lips as they drove past the old convenience store, the one Ichigo and his mother had walked to every other day. He felt somehow relieved that it was still standing there, at the same place with the same sign, that still glowed in that horrid green light. He wondered if they still sold the chocolate, the one with the cow on it. 

They drove further into the city and Ichigo's smile only grew wider and wider. Old memories came back to him at the speed of light, things he had long since forgotten. 

He felt the car slowing down and he turned away from the busstation outside the window, instead looking out at the crosswalk infront of the car. The cross walk he and his mother had passed everyday when she walked him to school. 

The smile that had been on his lips just a few seconds ago faded, turning into a grimace, as he watched the girl infront of the car. Above them the traffic light flickered from red to green and the father pressed the pedal. 

The girl's grin only grew wider, as the car came driving towards her, her gaze challenging. She didn't move or try to stop the accelerating car, she just stood there, waiting. Ichigo closed his eyes, as the girl's thin body hit the hood. 

But there was no thud or the screaming of breaks. There weren't even shocked screams, caused by her suicide act. 

Just silence. 

They just drove trough her. 

Ichigo turned around and paled, as he watch her bloody blouse and her ripped skirt. Her pale arms, that she help up towards the sky, covered in coagulated blood, as if it was another victory. Her cracked skull. 

Slowly the girl turned around, just to look at the car that had passed trough her. Ichigo shivered as he saw her triumphant smile and her dead gaze behind the cracked glasses. 

"Where was his house again?" the father muttered, next to him. Ichigo turned around once more and watched the father, who had just uttered his first words after hours of complete silence. Usually it would've been a sly comment and a question regarding the 'cute girl' that Ichigo had just seen. But now it was just a regular boring question, that Ichigo didn't give a rat's ass about. 

They drove further and further into the city, passing places Ichigo couldn't recognize. All he knew was that they drove through the 'nicer' blocks of Karakura. Filled with doctors, architects and other snobbs with to much money. He had barely been there when he was younger, but he could clearly remember that he had stared up at the fancy houses. 

The father slowed down and Ichigo admired the houses they passed, the other fancier than the last. The girl by the cross walk had long since been forgotten, now only his questions to the father echoed in his head, about the phone call.

What had happened to Willy?

Who was Willy?

Was his name even Will-

"Ichigo, check the adress!" the father suddenly exclaimed, pulling him away from his thoughts. 

"What adress?" 

The father dropped the steering wheel and started to search his pockets for something. Ichigo grabbed the wheel, just in time to save them from hitting a white, expensive car parked by the side of the road. The father continued to search his pockets, until he pulled his hands up. With them came different colored candy wrappers, that fell down at the floor. 

"If you continue to drive like this, someone will throw up", he said and stretched out his hand towards Ichigo, who let go of the wheel. The father's hand was sweaty and sticky, but Ichigo took the papper without complaining. 

The note was crumpled and smelled of the cheap caramels that the father ate. A sweet, chemical smell, that only the father enjoyed. 

The characters were wobbly and unreadable. Ichigo tried holding it closer, but he still could only make out the street number. 

"Do you expect me to be able to read this?" he muttered, quietly, so the father wouldn't hear the snide comment. Ichigo never avoided the hit that was aimed at his head. 

"Read it!"

The boy squinted, as if it would help. The syllables left his tongue slowly and he was quiet sure he got it wrong. 

"I knew it!" the father shouted. In the backseat, the girls still slept, though the ruckus that was thrown in the front seat.

"Shut up, Yuzu and Karin are sleeping", Ichigo hissed and glared at the father. This time he avoided the blow that came and all the father hit was air. Once again it grew quiet in the car, but this time it didn't last for long.

"Dad?" 

"Yeah?"

"What has actually happened? Why are we moving back to Karakura?" 

For a long time it felt as if the father would remain silent and ignore the question. But after awhile he sighed and asked, hesitant, "do you remember Uryuu?"

"The guy with white hair?" 

The father laughed, a laugh that the boy had missed, and shock his head.

"No, no, that's Ryuuken. Mom's cousin", he said, "no Uryuu is hi-"

The father held his tongue. 

"Was his son", he continued, almost whispering, as if he didn't want Ichigo to hear. But Ichigo heard. And he understood who Uryū was. 

"He was the same age as you."

Uryū was the boy with dark blue eyes. 

"He died just a few days ago."

Once the silence came and the car slowed down infront of one of the houses. 

"We're here", the father muttered, as he parked the car. As he pulled out the car keys, he turned around, towards his still sleeping daughters. With a mask of faked happiness, he said, "wakeywake, my young girls! We're here!" 

Slowly both Yuzu and Karin woke up in the backseat. Ichigo opened the door and stepped out, his legs sore after the long trip. He stared up at the whitewashed house. It was smaller than he had expected. And far older. 

"Big brother, help us!" 

He turned around and faced his family, who all stood by the car's trunk and emptied it. Karin glared at him and threw a bag at him. Just before it hit the ground, Ichigo grabbed it's handle and smirked at his sister, who just stuck out her tongue. He got another bag to hold, just as heavy as the first, and quickly they had emptied the trunk. 

The family walked down the gravel path that led up to the house. Beneath them the gravel crunched and Ichigo looked out at the giant garden that surrounded the house. The grass was withered and the flowers dead. No one took care of it. 

The father had already started to knock at the door, as Ichigo walked up the wooden stairs, up towards the porch that was surrounded by hanging ivy. The old man knocked for a long time, with hard knocks. 

Carefully Ichigo dropped the heavy bags at the old porch floor, that creaked beneath the weight. 

"Where are we?" Karin muttered, loud enough for him to hear, as she stared at the unopened door. He looked down at her and answered, "Karakura."

"And what's this place?"

"No idea", Ichigo confessed and shrugged. Somewhere in the house he could hear someone shouting, but the father didn't stop with his knocking. He almost fell, as he was pushed back by the door that suddenly swinged open. And in the doorway the white haired man, with the cold, blue eyes, stood. Just like Ichigo remembered him. But there was no sign of grief, no signs of a lost son who left him far too early.

"Ryuuken! My friend!" the father happily exclaimed. Ryūken sighed and muttered something Ichigo wasn't able to hear. 

"Good day, Kuro-"

With a thud, the father's bags hit the floor and he embraced the cold man. It wasn't a happy hug, it wasn't like hugs were supposed to be like. No, this was a hug to ensure him that it wasn't over and there were still those who cared for him. 

"Don't you dare to call me Kurosaki!"

The father held the other man for a long time, with a hard embrace. Both Ichigo and Karin sighed, when the father wouldn't let go of Ryūken. If he noticed that the other squirmed, trying to escape, he didn't show it. In the end the father let go and picked up his bags. One after another they got to enter the house and one after another the children got to shake hands with the cold man. 

"Ichigo", he said and stretched out his right hand towards Ryūken. The man stared down at him, with cold eyes, that missed emotion. Missed grief. 

"Ishida Ryuuken."

The man backed and let Ichigo into the house. The first thing he noticed was the light, varnished, wooden floor. So clean, it seemed as if no one had walked upon it. Especially if you compared it to their extremely dirty floor at home, that Yuzu tried desperately keep clean, back at home in T-

Ichigo stopped himself. That house was no longer their home. This house was, he supposed. At least for the moment. 

He looked down at his family's shoes. Karin's and the father's had just been thrown at the floor, while Yuzu's tiny, yellow sandals had neatly been placed at the shoe rack. Ichigo put down his bags at the floor, stepped out of his trainers and put them on the shoe rack next to a pair of patent shoes. He picked up the bags and followed his family into the house. 

Behind him he could hear Ryūken closing the door. Ichigo's bare feet hit the cool wooden floor and the steps echoed through the silence. 

The entire house was painted in the same dull color and the furniture were all in the same boring color scale. The living room, and the kitchen, that it was connected to, were no difference. A stairs led up to the second floor, which was probably just as dull as the rest of the house. 

"You have a very beautiful house, Ishida-san", Yuzu said, staring out through the two giant glass doors. 

"Thank you."

"Where are we sleeping?" the father asked. 

"I have a guest room, with two be-". 

Before Ryūken could finish his sentence, Karin had already exclaimed, "Yuzu and I share."

"One of you will have to sleep on the couch", the cold man finished. 

"I will take the other one", the father shouted. Ichigo glared at him. 

"You're older", he answered, "you'll have the couch."

"But I have back pains", the father whined in defense. Ryūken sighed and muttered something, sounding like childish and usual. 

"Do what ever you want. But I don't have time for your childish antics, Kurosaki."

And with that he turned around and walked down the corridor. 

"Where's the guest room?" Karin shouted after him. 

"The fourth room to the left, upstairs."

Karin was already halfway up the stairs, before he could finish the sentence, "hurry up, Yuzu!"

"Coming", Yuzu nodded and followed her sister up the stairs. The silence was heavy in the giant living room, when it was only Ichigo and the father left. 

"You take the couch", Ichigo said, but the father only shook his head. 

"We'll solve this in a systematic way", he said gravely. His dark eyes piercing Ichigo's and the boy stretched out his hand. The father did the same. 

"You ready?"  the father asked and Ichigo nodded. 

"Rock!" 

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

Ichigo looked down at his fist and the father's outstretched hand. Paper beat paper. 

"Congratulations Ichigo, the couch is probably super comfy!" 

 

* * *

 

The sun was sinking as they walked down the wide road, towards the graveyard. Even though the night was closing in, it was just as warm as before. Above them the trees towered up towards the pink sky, throwing long shadows across the pavement. It was completely quiet at the graveyard. Only leaves dancing in the wind, their breaths and their steps. 

The family was almost completely alone at the road, only a hunching figure was there, who walked further up the hill, with slow steps. But Ichigo could understand why no one was there. The questions was, why they were there. 

It was late, almost eleven o'clock, and the tree children were tired. The father had just ignored their whining and had continued up the hill. Yuzu had been in luck, she ot to sit on the father's shoulders, where she had fallen asleep. The other two had to walk. 

"Why are we doing this today?" Karin had sighed, when they were halfway up the hill. 

"Why not today?" the father answered. 

"We're tired."

"Quit whining, my son. We can't do this tomorrow."

"And that's because...?"

"I've got a job."

"Who would want to hire you?" 

The father turned around, glaring down at his son, and said, "the hospital."

"As a food lady?" 

"Nah, doctor."

"Don't you need education for that?" Karin muttered. 

"Which I have."

"Sure", Ichigo said. They approached the end of the hill, closing in on the hunching figure. Now closer, Ichigo could see that the man wore an old, brown kimono and that his dirty blonde hair reached his shoulders. He would've been taler than Ichigo, but since he was hunching, he seemed to be twenty centimeters shorter. His steps were jagged, as if he had a limp. Ichigo watched his family with great disappointment, who completely ignored the man that clearly needed their help. 

'It's just like them', Ichigo thought, as he stopped next to the man and asked, "hey, do you need any he-"

Ichigo paled. The man stared up at him with an almost closed, golden eyes. And it felt as if would throw up any second. 

'How could I be so stupid?' Ichigo turned away from the man and watched his family. The man looked up at him, questioningly, as he started to run. His thoughts roaming through his head, as he was catching up to his family. He never turned around to look at the man, who still stood at the same place and stared at him. 

'How couldn't I notice that he didn't have a shadow?' It was probably the first time someone had spoken to him since the day he died. The man's right eye was wide open, while the other was completely swelled shut, covered by a dark bruise. 

'My family are the only one's stupid enough to visit a graveyard eleven o'clock', Ichigo thought, as he entered the graveyard. He slowed down when he caught up with his family. Karin glared at him, as he tried to regain his breath. 

"Why'd you run?"

"Tied my shoes."

The many graves they passed looked all different. Some splendor, some simple. Some looked as if they were hundred of years old, while others' could have been raised just a few days ago. Some of the names that were carved into them, Ichigo recognized, but he couldn't remember who Hirako and Llargo were. 

As they continued further down the maze of graves, the older the graves got. Some were family graves and other's belonged to those who were long since forgotten. Most of the names were unreadable, since moss covered the stone. As if no one cared anymore. But a tiny, blue flower stood and swayed with the wind, by the oldest graves. 

At the edge of the grave yard, where the shadows were the darkest and the graves the oldest, the father stopped. 

"Here it is", he said, without a warning. 

"Yuzu, wake up!" Karin shouted and looked up at her sleeping sister. Slowly she woke up and was let down at the ground. 

"Shouldn't we have brought flowers?" she asked. 

"Yeah, but I forgot."

It became quiet, as they waited and paid their respect to the woman who rested there. Above them the sky had turned dark and the moon was slowly rising. But Ichigo could still read the names that were carved into the grave's stone. 

The first belonged to someone who had long since left them and the other belonged to a man who had yet to face. Who didn't have the money the grave once more as he joined his beloved. And the red paint had started to peel. 

"Have you forgotten flowers?" someone asked suddenly. Slowly, they all turned to face the girl who stood there, next to them. They hadn't noticed her. 

"Yes."

The girl only smile and nodded. In her hand she held a tiny flower bouquet of white and blue flowers. The same blue flower that had been placed on the forgotten graves. 

"You can have some", she said happily, "I bought too many. As usual."

Carefully she pulled out a pair of flowers from the tiny bouquet and leaned down towards Yuzu. 

"Thank you", Yuzu said and took the flowers. 

"No problem." 

The girl straightened and pushed back her oranger hair, that hung down infront of her face. Her smile was just as big as before, as she walked away from them. Yuzu carefully laid the flowers on the grave and the family made themselves ready to leave. Everyone except Ichigo. 

His gaze was still training after the girl with the flowers. She sat down infront of one of the graves, just a few meters away. Ichigo watched as she laid the last of her flowers on the grave and started to pray for the person she had lost. Ichigo never noticed when Karin told him and the family walked away from the grave. 

"Come on, my son! Stop staring at the pretty girl!" the father shouted, faraway. 

Ichigo turned away from the girl and glared at his father, who just smiled. A goofy smile. 

"Bye mom", he said. Slowly he walked away from the grave, towards the family that waited.

One last time he watched the girl, who prayed infront of the grave. Brown eyes met grey and he quickly looked away.

The girl giggled and smiled at him. A wide smile he never saw.

And the tears just continued to stream down her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I'm back!! Sorry that I took so long, but school is school.


End file.
